President Obama Endorses Gay Marriage

Today, President Obama announced his belief that “same-sex couples should be able to get married.” He is the first U.S. President to announce, at least publicly, his support for gay marriage, reports The New York Times. This comes not long after North Carolina placed a ban against same-sex marriage and after Vice President Biden announced he was “absolutely comfortable” with gay marriage.

The big announcement happened in an interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts. The full announcement will air on Thursday morning on Good Morning America.

In the interview, Obama states: “I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raisingkids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.”

News outlets and social media users have been buzzing non-stop, with many congratulating the president on airing his views, and others looking to right-wing politician Mitt Romney for his reaction. Some Latino personalities have chimed in as well:

Perez Hilton applauded Obama on his blog and wrote that he was “proud to have a president who supports equality!”

Recording artist Vicci Martinez tweeted, “Gobama!!!! Now “Come Along” should most definitely be the campaign song for him!”

(Come along is one of Martinez’s songs, in which Martinez sings “time flies, make a statement, take a stand… let’s seize this day”).

It will be interesting to see how other stars -- including Ricky Martin who has stated previously that same-sex marriage is about “civil rights” -- react to this news.

What are your thoughts? Did he make the right decision by publicly announcing his beliefs? Share in the comments.

Update: Ricky Martin reacted to the news by tweeting, "I applaud President @barackobama for affirming that ALL Americans should enjoy equal rights. Historic! I will be a very proud host on Monday"-- he then tweeted the same message in Spanish!

Sam edits and oversees all site content with a focus on fashion, beauty and lifestyle. When she's not working, you can find her watching way too many YouTube videos and reading (YA novels, mostly). Follow her on Twitter @samanthajoleal.

Latina Media Ventures, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Service LLC Associate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, and is also a Linkshare, ShareaSale, and CJ affiliate. Our decisions to feature and recommend products is guided by our editorial decisions.